Team Never Quit

A black leather helmet. Not just any helmet. A circa 1914 FDNY helmet found in Naples, Florida, originating from Ladder 42 in The Bronx, New York. In this week’s episode, Jerry Stanford, FDNY veteran, details his adventure in returning that incredible helmet – and presenting it back to Ladder 42 in The Bronx on September 10, 2001 - the day before the attacks of 9/11. Jerry returned to service as a volunteer after the attacks on the World Trade center and authored the book: It Started with a Helmet. You’ll appreciate Jerry’s compelling story, and his straightforward personality as he details the path of the helmet from Naples to The Bronx. In this episode you will hear: • We flew out from La Guardia Airport 2 hours before the attacks. I could’ve been on one of those hijacked planes. • Everyone’s running out of the buildings while we were running into the building. • We lost 343 Firefighters from all ranks. With all those years of experience gone, it was difficult to fill those voids. • After 10-12 days, it changed from a rescue mission to a recovery mission. • The jet fuel kept the fires burning. • On September 12, 2001, we were all New Yorkers. • You couldn’t buy a flag. • The government officials told us that it was fine to be in the area with no masks or breathing gear. 6 years later, I was diagnosed with lung cancer, as were many others. • Back then, I could go to the World Trade Center site, and any hour of the day or night. People were cheering us on. • Now they want to cut back funding for police, while they have private security. That’s crazy. • Life is so different now. We have to adapt to it. • We were taken aback at the difference in two or three years in New York City. • In Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over in three short weeks. What the hell is going on there? • We let the fox back into the hen house. • What happened to our leadership? • If you need to talk to somebody, please do it. Don’t do anything drastic. A lot of departments have mental health people that are there to help you. • It doesn’t cost anything to be nice to people. Support Jerry  https://www.tiktok.com/@itstartedwithahelmet  https://www.facebook.com/itstartedwithahelmet https://www.instagram.com/itstartedwithahelmet

Are you looking to accomplish some goals in your life? Take a listen to John Chambliss, our guest in this week’s episode. John is a career firefighter, personal trainer, owner of 48 Str8 Fitness and 48 Str8 Supplements, nutritionally designed for First Responders, Veterans, and health-conscious gym-goers. This is what hard work and a “get-it-done” attitude look like. John conveys the seemingly impossible obstacles he has overcome to become a successful entrepreneur and servant to the community, without anyone’s help. Truly a self-made man with a positive outlook on everything he pursues. In this episode you will hear: • You gotta figure out which way you wanna go – find your own path.  • Quit worrying about money & bills. Chase your dream. • Success in the gym is having a connection/relationship with your trainer. • If I’m gonna put you on a program, I’m gonna do it with you. • Mediocracy is what kills us. • If you ever find yourself on a crotch rocket, a tank top, and shorts - that’s a set up. • The doctor told me I’d never walk again and never work out again. I have 6 plates and 32 screws in my left hip. • I need to do something better for my community as a first responder, fire, police, military and the general public. • The name48 Str8 comes from my work shifts. • When is my shit gonna come pick me up to take me to the success lane? You gotta build that shit. • When you make a mistake, learn from it, and move on. • When you hit rock bottom – good – now you know what it feels like, and you don’t wanna be back there again. • Why do something that not gonna propel you in the direction you wanna be going? • There is no option to give up.

In this week’s episode, we bring you Part 2 of Dr. Donnely Wilkes’ personal and amazing story of his experiences on the battlefield of Fallujah. With 2 combat tours in Iraq under his belt, Dr. Donnely Wilkes shares his first-hand experiences with refreshing transparency. While one would think someone with that kind of experience would be tough as nails, Wilkes describes his true feelings and fears of being in a real-life battle with people wanting to kill him, all the while serving as a medic in battlefield conditions. Wilkes is the founder, president, and medical director of Summit Health Group in Thousand Oaks, CA, and authored Code Red Fallujah, his first-hand narrative of his role in the Battle of Fallujah. He served seven years on active duty and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor for his actions in the battle of Fallujah in April of 2004. Upon completion of his naval service, Dr. Wilkes was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant. He is a devoted husband, father, and Christian. In this episode you will hear: I hadn’t fully accepted my fate, and I wasn’t quite all the way in. And I said to myself, “you gotta be all the way in right now, or you’re gonna do something stupid or emotionally not make it.” I finally came to terms with “If this is my fate, so be it.” As a regular occurrence, I would take cover in the corner of the building when rockets were landing around us, but that was life in Iraq. One night when I pushed the button on my laptop to end a movie, it was like the hiss of a thousand snakes descending upon me and rockets shook our entire building. When rockets would blow through our buildings and tents, I would get pissed since I couldn’t fight back in the dark of night. I tried to do what I could to be a good human. Everybody, in some capacity, should serve. It will help everyone understand and appreciate the benefits of providing service. Writing the book was really therapeutic for me. In the time of your greatest fears, God will meet you there, and you will persevere. Beware of what you pray for – you may get it. 

With 2 combat tours in Iraq under his belt, Dr. Donnely Wilkes shares his first-hand experiences with refreshing transparency. While one would think someone with that kind of experience would be tough as nails, Wilkes describes his true feelings and fears of being in a real-life battle with people wanting to kill him while serving as a medic in battlefield conditions. Wilkes is the founder, president, and medical director of Summit Health Group in Thousand Oaks, CA, and authored Code Red Fallujah, his first-hand narrative of his role in the Battle of Fallujah. He served seven years on active duty and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor for his actions in the battle of Fallujah in April of 2004. Upon completion of his naval service, Dr. Wilkes was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant. He is a devoted husband, father, and Christian. Part 1 of 2.  In this episode you will hear: I never thought I would join the military, much less do two tours in Iraq. My grandfather was a P-38 pilot in WWII and was shot down over North Africa, and survived. My dad always pushed me to seek higher levels. I wasn’t the smartest kid in the class. I would just outwork. A key question for a battlefield medic: Can you operate under pressure, be sleep-deprived, and yet do procedures well? Going on simulated night raids was like being in a movie- but I didn’t know I wasn’t quite ready for this movie. As much as I trained, I thought I was prepared, but I wasn’t. When the “S” hits the fan, you have a file drawer of skills, and you have to access it. Fallujah was like the Wild West. It was unbelievable what the United States military could mobilize and put on wheels. The Marine Corps motto is to do more with less. I came to the point where I realized I just needed to finish the mission so I could go home. When mortar attacks began, that’s when I knew there was somebody out there wanting to kill me. I couldn’t accept being there and being in harm’s way. I really struggled to keep it together.  When I experienced my first surgical casualty, it was a horrible moment, but after the team gathered around and prayed, it was a beautiful moment. 

It’s hard to imagine living life without hearing, especially if you lost your hearing forever at the age of 18. But in the case of this week’s guest, Mandy Harvey drove her stake into the ground and pursued her endeavor to sing, write music, and “hear” with her feet – to the point that Simon Cowell was moved to press the Golden Buzzer after Mandy’s original song performance on America’s Got Talent. Since that time, Mandy has earned a degree in Vocal Music Education and has become an ambassador to No Barriers USA with a mission to encourage, inspire and assist others to break through their personal barriers. In this episode you will hear: The mindset of abilities vs disabilities is just a lack of education, because everyone has barriers they have to deal with. I didn’t overcome anything, it just took me a little bit of time to figure it out. The mother of all invention is being innovative. I write a lot of music based on how it feels, instead of what I think it sounds like. I’ll write specific notes that tickle behind my eye or bother my face, so that I know that I’m right. I’m feeling the floor, and then just opening my mouth and letting go. The most precious gift you can have is communication. I can’t seem to explain how joyful I am now vs how broken I was before. I’m living my life and this part of my story – part of who I am. I’m thrilled to be who I am. The phrase “some people struggle and some people don’t” - Everybody struggles. It just looks different. Not every single person gets the opportunity to understand joy, or feel love. Be compassionate to people – we have no idea what’s going on in their life. With every struggle you have, you have two choices – you can either let it beat you, or you can learn from it. I really don’t believe that there was one eureka moment that made me feel not depressed anymore. It was collection of moments – a collection of people being there. I got up once. I’ll get up again. Let’s go… The getting up and starting over is the hardest part. This is a messy broken world, full of messy broken people. That’s just life.

After a seven-year battle with a rare form of cancer, Richie McPeak, Cancer amputee warrior, is living life to the fullest while inspiring others towards their goals and dreams. In this week’s episode, this incredible man shares details about his Cancer fight, with over 400 hours of chemo that resulted in an above-the-knee amputation. Despite that, he co-founded McPeak – maker of the world’s first non-GMO vegan gummy supplements and ready-to-drink plant-based powders for adults and children. Listen in and be inspired by Richie’s never-quit mentality.  In this episode you will hear: From our darkest moments can rise our brightest hours. I’ve been through some fires, but I’ve truly come to believe that every step is a finish line. When you make it to the next moment, you have finish line, after finish line, after finish line. Then you can stay in the game. We have too many options in life. Make success and making it to the end your only goal. You can be exhausted physically and mentally, but you’re never out. There are people that stepped up like brothers and uplifted me. When you lose someone, there’s only one question to ask yourself – did you love them? It took 4 guys 15-20 minutes to take my brother out, as he fought with every breath he had. They’re gonna have to cut my heart out before I quit. Never quit, no matter what you’re up against. I feel I have a duty to inspire others as best I can. No matter how dark it gets, you’re never out of the fight. Every step is a finish line. You don’t have to make it to the end of the day – just make it to your next moment with everything you’ve got.

What does an Army squad leader do in a battlefield situation when his platoon encounters three floors of insurgents and is pinned with rooftop snipers firing away? If you're Davis Bellavia, you lead your team into action. David single-handedly saved his entire squad, risking his own life to allow his fellow soldiers to break contact and reorganize when trapped by overwhelming insurgent fire. He then voluntarily entered and cleared an insurgent strong point, killing four and seriously wounding another. His actions stand as a testament to those who put everything on the line as they do the grim work required to keep each other safe and alive on the battlefield. David Bellavia is the only living recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross.   In this episode you will hear: We not only have to live for ourselves and our families, but we have to remind people who our lost soldiers are, because they didn't drop dead of a heart attack, or were killed by some misfortune or bad luck; they voluntarily chose to stand up when the bullets were coming and they voluntarily said “I'll do this for you”. You're not a man until you acknowledge that you don't have a father. Peer pressure makes you smoke cigarettes when you're 11. Peer pressure ca also make you charge a machine gun nest at Normandy beach. It all depends who your peers are. When the voices in your head say quit, don't. You really can't appreciate life until you've gone through combat. There's no education like the United States military. Never bring a hairdryer to basic training. You can't mourn on the battlefield. In the case of fallen soldiers, we should exchange the word “memorialize” for the word “celebrate”. America is still the shining city on the hill.

There are people in this world who experience and endure almost unbelievable events in their lifetime. This week’s amazing guest, Sebastian Junger, is one of them. Sebastian shares graphic details of his undiagnosed, life-threatening aneurism that burst, causing a 90% blood loss – all internally. He is an award-winning journalist covering major international news stories as well as a documentary film-maker. He has been nominated for an Academy Award. He also has an amazing grasp of human and military-related psychology. In addition, Sebastian is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, War, Tribe, and Freedom.     Sebastian Junger is the founder and director of Vets Town Hall, with the purpose of increasing communication and understanding between veterans and civilians in their communities.  In this episode you will hear: If you can’t out run ‘em and you can’t out fight ‘em, you’re gonna have to out think ‘em. When things get physically hard, you gotta figure out how to turn off your mind – don’t let your mind negotiate with you. I was a lackluster student in college, but writing a thesis is the most exciting thing I’d ever done. I made a mistake and hit my leg with a chainsaw. There are really dangerous jobs out there with a mortality rate of combat soldiers. The majority of veteran suicides are primarily Vietnam-era veterans. It may not be caused by a combat issue as much as it could be life issues. While working as a journalist In Liberia, I was accused of being a spy. They came to get me and I hid on the roof of my hotel, with the embassy 300 yards away. In combat, you’re proactive. You have urgency. You can affect the outcome. There is a moral burden in killing the enemy. I had an undiagnosed aneurism – a deformity - in my Pancreatic Artery. It ballooned out & it burst, causing me to bleed out into my own abdomen. I lost 90% of my blood, and as I was dying, and my dead father showed up above me – trying to comfort me. If you can’t defend yourself and your community, you’re not going to be free for very long. The trick for human freedom is to be militaristic enough and organized enough to defend yourself against an enemy, but also create an equitable society at home. Humans don’t survive in nature by themselves – they need other people. How do you return a warrior to society? You can leave the front lines, but eventually, it’s gonna find you. We walked almost 400 miles and most nights we were the only people in the world who knew where we were. There are many definitions of freedom but surely that is one of them. If you can separate your body & your mind, you can do almost anything. My daughter once said: “Daddy, I’m small, but I’m huge when I stand in the light.” Public accounting of what it felt like to serve your country overseas can be very cathartic. 

In this week’s podcast, you will hear the incredible story of the mission to locate and kill Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade center by one of two dozen Navy SEALs, Will Chesney, who was a K9 handler in that operation. Will’s dog, “Cairo”, was instrumental in helping to successfully accomplish the mission. After that mission, only one name was made public: Cairo’s.   Will’s story is one of an irrevocable tie to his dog, as well as straightforward talk about his personal struggles with depression, migraines, chronic pain, and memory loss.   In this episode you will hear:   On SEAL Team 4, I got the trifecta: Com, Sniper, and Gen Tech. I loved it. Being part of that mission was like being part of a movie. When you’re going through a tough time, don’t quit. Reach out to somebody. There’s so many good people out there. There’s so many modalities for help. Try something – give it a good shot – if that doesn’t work, try something else. Get on your knees and pray to God every day. Try to do good things. Help people out. How many times do you get to go home? How many minutes do you get to spend with family? Don’t live to regret not reaching out to your family more. You can go away at any time. If you don’t keep up – if you don’t perform. If you’re not an asset, but a liability – you’re fired. When I got to the point that I was a liability, after so many great guys and years of my life - to walk away from that - that was amazing. This is my family. The biggest thing I got from all my experiences is my connection with God. I love dogs, and I’ll take on that [dog handling] responsibility to save a friend. Everybody that had something to do with that mission: from the intel to almost dying in a helicopter crash, was incredible. Even with all that, the way things flowed was incredible.

Have you ever tried shooting not one, not two, but three rifles? Then add in the seemingly impossible task of hitting multiple targets… While cross-country skiing!!! If you’re 3-time Olympian “twin biathletes” Lanny & Tracy Barnes, it’s just another day at the office. In this week’s episode, you can get a glimpse into their world of hunting, shooting, and skiing, and their pursuit of excellence as they represent the Red, White, and Blue on a global awareness scale.   In this episode you will hear:   We did see early success, but it wasn’t because we were any good; we just stuck our head down and gutted it out through the race. If one of us is doing well, the other can do just as good, because we’re exactly the same. No matter what, don’t give up. If you’re gonna dot it, then go all the way. With your biggest competition and your best friend competing with you every day – pushing you every day - you can get to a higher level. The Olympics is the most intense thing ever. When Lanny fell ill and didn’t make the Olympic team, Tracy, after being announced as having made the team said to their coach, “I decline my spot on the Olympic team.” It was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. When we combine our forces, it’s that much better. I can put in my best effort, but together, we can make amazing things happen. We live in the best country in the world. Even in losing, the thing we learned most, is that we didn’t quit… even if we came in dead last. The “Never Quit” mentality is “Train the Brain.” We can sum up our entire career in these words – “We pursue hard.”